Implications of neuroimaging findings in addiction

Abstract

Addiction is characterized by a persistent cycle of drug seeking and taking as well as high relapse rate. Neuroimaging technology offers an opportunity to elucidate the brain neurobiology in addiction, with particular attention to those circuits implicated in reward processing, memory and cognitive control etc. Here, we summarized the neuroimaging evidence in addiction to reveal the brain structural and functional plasticity changes and recovery with prolonged abstinence. Moreover, neuroimaging combined with machine learning may allow a prediction of relapse risk. Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been proved to be effective in drug addiction by modulating the brain region and circuits. We further proposed neuronavigated rTMS may provide a scientific and advanced strategy to improve the therapy by promoting accurate individualized stimulation targets. In conclusion, combination of neuroimaging with multimodal fusion, machine learning and neurostimulation has the potential to extend our understanding of the brain neuroplasticity and therapy in addiction. We expected this paper would promote the translation and treatment in addiction and propound recommendations for the urgent challenges to mitigate the addiction relapse rate in future.